Cruel Death, Heartless Aftermath - My Family's End-of-Life Nightmare and How To Avoid It

In 2013, Barbara Mancini was falsely charged with trying to assist her father in an alleged suicide attempt. Mancini fought back in a case that consumed a year of her life, cost more than $100,000, and drew national media attention, including a New York Times column by Frank Bruni, PBS story and 60 Minutes piece.

Mancini has now published a book to raise awareness about end-of-life care issues, and to warn caregivers of the pitfalls that can ensnare them when providing care to their dying loved ones. Cruel Death, Heartless Aftermath is a compelling narrative that holds valuable lessons for the families of nearly three million people who die each year. 

Barbara discusses the bizarre, outrageous treatment authorities inflicted on her family, including details that never appeared in news reports at the time. She explains the risks that the dying and their caregivers face and how to protect against them. 

The book explores the combination of forces that so often cause people to die a death devoid of dignity and full of pain. Those forces include taboos about discussing impending death, religious ideology, ignorance of patients’ legal rights, insufficient attention to effective pain management, poor hospice care, and the powerful life-saving imperatives of the healthcare system. 

Part memoir, part detective story about an innocent person’s fight against injustice, and part social commentary, Barbara’s book is a compelling narrative with valuable lessons for your audience. 

Praise for the book is collected here. A brief summary is available here.